Garment closure



July 3, 1945. M. MCFARLANE 2,379,815

GARMENT CLOSURE Filed Sept. 27, 1941 m ATTORNEYS Patented July 3 uni-ransTArss PATENT oFFi cs:

I GARMENT cnos'unn Marguerite Mc'Farlane, New York, N. Y. "ApplicationSeptember 21, 1941, Serial No. 412.573

4 Claims. (01'. 2-38) This invention relates to garment closures, and

' more particularly to the type of garment closure where a slide,fastener'is used and the garment is under some strain or tension.

sure in which the edges of the opening may be easily brought together toenable the free movement of a slide fastener.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure with whichtemporary relief from the in binding effect of the garment may besecured by operation through the outer garments.

A further object of the invention is to provide a relief opening in acorset, girdle or similar garwearer without lifting or removing theouter sarments.

' It is wellknown that. many garments of the supporting type. such ascorsets, girdles and foundation garments, are designed to sheath andmold 0 the body when the wearer is in a standing position. Also, manygarments are designed to re- 'duce excess flesh and are for that purposevery snug and coinflning about the hips and thighs.

when thewearer sits'for a period of time, such 95 over, the continuedwearing of such a garment causes an undesirabledistribution of the fleshand defeats the general purpose for which the gar ment is designed."

While my closure is designed for, and adaptable for garments of the typejust described, to enable makes possible the release of pressure on theI lower part of the garment when the garment is, being put on ortakenoif and thus decreases the the wearer to release the pressure inthe lower portion of the garment through the outer clothing when thewearer is in a sitting position or to,' any type of closure, it isparticularly suitable with the resultant straining of shape.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

. Inthe drawing- Fig. 1 isa perspective view of a garment on a wearerembodying my invention; a

Fig. 2 is a perspective viewillustrating how the closure may be openedthrough the outer clothins;

Fig. 3 is a detailed-view partly in section showseams and loss of .ingthe structure of my closure in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a detailed view with the outer part of the garment partlybroken away showing the 010- ment, which may be openedand closed by thel sure in open position;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken. on the. line 5-5 of Fig.3; v

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 8-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is across-sectional view of a modified form in which the outerfabric of the garment is extended to cover the slide fastener.

w zts'prviously stated, my closure is adaptable to any slide fastenerconstruction where tension is needed to bring the edgesof theslideiastener together before the slide is closed. While I have shown myinvention as applied to an undergarment, it will be appreciated that itis equally applicable to any number of constructions.

In the particular use shown,v a girdle or corset II) is provided withone or more openings ll adjacent the front of the hip and thigh portionof the garment below th waist, which openings may be inserted in theseam i2 or at any convenient place; I The opening is adapted to beclosed by 'a conventional slide fastener having the usual I i teeth l3and slide it. I have found that the when the garment becomesuncomfortably tight. 40

Since under such circumstances the ordinary slide fastener cannot beclosed without pinching ofithe flmh or obvious pulling and strugglingwith the fastener, my invention contemplates and provides fastener ismost easily operated if the slide is provided with a fairly large flatring ii of sumcient circumference to allow the insertion of the thumb,and it is advisable .to have the loop i8 suficiently large to allow thefree reversal of the ringii additional means for bringing the edges ofthe I slide fastener together so that the fastener may beclosed by asimple quick movement. It fur. ther provides means to protect the wearerfrom The slide fastener unit may be of the conventional typ'e'havingzipper backings H and I8 for the teeth ll; which backings may befastened by the seam l8 and 20 to the edges of the opening being pinchedor cut b the fastener during its operation.

In addition to the foregoing, my invention ll. In order to prevent thecatching of the flesh and to further enable the easy operation of theclosure, a shield member 2! is stitched to the Earfront-most end of theopening.

2i extends under the zipper backings i1 and I8 and under the edge of thegarment. .At

' ment at one end 22, preferably the forward or min on the garment dueto excess stretching its inedge a the shield ii is free but it tained inposition by the elastic stays 24 and 25. The stay 24 isfastened at 28 tothe upper edge of the shield 2i and at 27 to the fabric of the garment.The stay is fastened at one edge 28. to

the shield some distance frointhe edge, and is fastened to the garmentat 29.

A loop 30 on the edge of the shield 21 is provided to position the stayand shield and to.allow the stay-tostretch. A pull cord extends from apoint it between the shield and th zipper backing i1 through slidingmeans 31, 38, 38 and 40, and is provided at its end with a knob or bead4|. An elastic cord or thread 42 tacked to the garment at 48 may beprovided to prevent the bead-ll from hanging downwardly when thefastener is closed. The members 31,, 38, 39 and ll maybe eyelets,pulleys, or any other type of sliding means which will allow the freepassage of the cord 35.

It will be noted that the cord 35 extends under the slide supports l1and is so that as the fastener is closed or opened the cord is protectedfrom being caught in the fastener. It will also be noted that the shield2i lies between the cord 35 and the body and-that the shield 2i alwaysseparates the fastener and its backing from the body.

From the foregoing description it will be readily merits and move theslide I l upwardly to open the closure. This will naturally release thepressure and tension on the thighsand lower hips. When it is desired tothe opening this may be done. by asimple one-two motion in which thebead 4| is grasped through the dress and other garments and pulleddownwardly to hiring the edges of, the slide fastener t ether, whi e theother hand engaging the ring ii the slide ll may be pushed downwardly toaffect a closure.

The bead is then released and the elastic cord 4:

will lift the bead out of the. way. 1

In the modified form shown in Fig. 'l, the edges II and ii of the outerfabric of the garment are 1 extended so as to conceal the zipper openingand the zipper supports l1 and i8.

While I have shown, in Fig. 1, a garment in which two relief openingsare provided, the numappreciated that a woman may grasp the ring 15through a dress and other outer or under garwith thethumb of viding arelief opening extending upwardly from the loweredge of the garment,slide fastener of the way and where it may be operated by the wearerinconspicuously as she rises 01' sits.

I claim: I 1. The combination witha closure having 'a slide fastener, ofindependent means to bring the edges of said slide fastener together toenable the easy operation oi the slide, said means compris ing a cordfastened at one end adjacent the top of said closure and extending backand forth through sliding means whereby the pulling of said cord willbring the edgesoi said slide fastener into juxtaposition.

2; The combination with a closure having a slide fastener, ofindependent means tobring the edges of said slide fastener together andenable the easy operation of the slide, said means comprising a cordfastened at one end adiacent the top of said closure extending back. andforth through sliding means whereby the pulling of said cord will bringthe edges of said slide fastener into juxtaposition, and a shieldpositioned beneath said opening having one end fastened adjacent saidslide fastener and extending beyond the g opening at the other end. 25

3. In a garment of the corset type, means providing an elongated openingin the body of the garment substantially in the direction of its length,a slide fastener for normally closing said opening, a shield memberpositioned underneath said slide fastener, me for securing oppositeedges of said-shield mem r to the garment on opposite sides of saidopening, said securing means including a pair of elastic membersconnectingone edge of the shield member tothe garment and acting tomaintain said shield. iii extended position under tension across saidopening, when the slide fastener is unfastened to permitexpansion or thegarment in the region of said opening.

4. In a garmentof the corset type, means promeans for normally closingsaid opening, a shield extending substantially the'full length of saidopening and having a greater lateral dimension than said-opening whenthe slide fastener is .un-' fastened, said ,shield being secured alongone edge to the garment at one, edge of said'opening, and elastic meansattached to the opposite edge of the shield andsecured'to'theinside ofthe'garment beyond the other-edge'of said opening for normallypositioning the shield beneaththe fas-- tenor means when-said fastenermeans is fastened p and for yieldably maintaining said shield undertension completely across said opening when fastener means is unmatchedto permitexpansion' of thogarment in the region of'said opening,

- the front thigh where it is generally out nor-napalm.

